Airs Sunday, August 9, 2020, at 7 p.m. “Reopening Education."
The COVID-19 outbreak in March triggered the closing of all of Louisiana’s public and private schools, serving over 800 thousand K-12 students. Colleges and universities closed through the spring semester and two-thirds of early learning centers were shuttered. Five months later amid a statewide surge in cases, nearly 67 percent of childcare facilities are operating again and the Louisiana Department of Education, Board of Secondary and Elementary Education and Board of Regents have issued standards for reopening K-12 and college campuses.
So, what will Louisiana’s next school year look like? What health concerns do students and teachers face? How will buses handle reduced capacity requirements? How will younger students regain the nine weeks of in-person instruction they missed? Are longer school days in the future? And, how successful can online instruction be when one-third of the state’s households lack internet access? Louisiana Public Square addresses the challenges and concerns of students and educators re-entering pre-K through higher ed classrooms on “Reopening Education."
Our panelists will be:
Segment One: Early Education
· Dr. Michael Bolton / Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital
· Libbie Sonnier, Ph.D. / Louisiana Policy Institute for Children
· Olivette Temple / Childcare Association of Louisiana
Segment Two: K-12
· Cade Brumley, Ed.D. / Louisiana State Superintendent
· Keith Courville, Ph.D. / Associated Professional Educators of Louisiana
· Earmer Jackson / East Baton Rouge Parish educator
· Kesha Simmons / Louisiana School Counselors Association from Caddo Parish
Segment Three: Higher Education
· Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D. / Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education
· Monty Sullivan, Ed.D. / Louisiana Community & Technical College System
· Chandler Vidrine / Southern University
Beth Courtney, LPB CEO, and Barry Erwin, president of the Council for A Better Louisiana (CABL) will host.
